Camille Naredo

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala faces Japan's Himeno Sakatsume in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open Round of 16 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on January 28, 2026.

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala faces Japan's Himeno Sakatsume in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open Round of 16 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on January 28, 2026. Eala booked a spot in the quarterfinals after beating Sakatsume 6-4, 6-0. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open

<p>MANILA -- Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala is turning heads both on and off the court at Indian Wells, as she gave fans a crash course on the Filipino language.</p><p>In a short clip posted by the official Tennis Channel on X (formerly Twitter), Eala shared a few Filipino phrases, such as &quot;Mahal kita&quot; and &quot;Mabuhay,&quot; to commentators and a global audience.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2030760946113949904&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-03-09T03%3A53%3A45.032988%3A71c556c0-98cf-490e-9e65-78798d1bdf51%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=af3aa4b60c449a5799b328291a3fc0b1887d60d8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:802px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2030760946113949904"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Eala also shared a few phrases she says to herself during matches, including: &quot;Ay nako&quot; (my gosh), &quot;Laban&quot; (fight), &quot;Isa pa&quot; (one more), and &quot;Kaya mo &#x27;to&quot; (I can do this).</p><p>&quot;I have a lot of phrases that I tell myself,&quot; Eala said. &quot;There&#x27;s a lot of things you can say.&quot;</p><p>The quick language lesson appeared to have resonated deeply with fans and sparked enthusiastic reactions from Filipinos, who continue to hail Eala for representing the nation on the international tennis stage.</p><p>Eala, 20, advanced to the round-of-16 at Indian Wells after her third-round opponent, American star Coco Gauff, retired with an arm injury.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/3/9/alex-eala-advances-to-indian-wells-round-16-after-coco-gauff-retires-1029">READ: Alex Eala advances to round of 16 in Indian Wells after Gauff retires</a></div>

<p>Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala is turning heads both on and off the court at Indian Wells, as she gave fans a crash course on the Filipino language.</p>

Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala is turning heads both on and off the court at Indian Wells, as she gave fans a crash course on the Filipino language.

WATCH: Alex Eala gives a crash course in Filipino at Indian Wells

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WATCH: Alex Eala gives a crash course in Filipino at Indian Wells

Eli L. Dela Cruz,

ABS-CBN News Digital Intern

Published March 09, 2026 12:06 PM PHT

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